More Trouble for Tinubu’s New Year Tax Laws as Reps Minority Caucus Demand Suspension

…Body Goes to Court to Halt Implementation
…NANS Blames FIRS for Poor Enlightenment

By Franklin Adole
Fresh troubles are mounting for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s new tax reforms as the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives and a civil society group intensify resistance to the laws scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.

The Minority Caucus has formally asked the Federal Government to suspend implementation of the new tax laws amid allegations that the versions currently in circulation were unlawfully altered after passage by the National Assembly and assent by the President.

The call comes barely days after Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, insisted that the commencement date for the Nigerian Tax Act and the Nigerian Tax Administration Act was “sacrosanct” and would not be shifted.

Speaking after a meeting attended by the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacchaeus Adedeji, and the Chairman of the National Tax Policy Implementation Committee, Joseph Tegbe, Oyedele maintained that the reforms were designed to bring relief to Nigerians.

According to him, the bottom 98 per cent of workers would either pay no Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax or pay significantly less, while about 97 per cent of small businesses would be exempt from Corporate Income Tax, Value Added Tax, and Withholding Tax. He added that large businesses would also benefit from reduced tax burdens, stressing that the reforms were aimed at promoting economic growth, inclusivity, and shared prosperity.

However, the Minority Caucus rejected that position, citing what it described as a “storm of controversy” surrounding the laws. In a statement jointly signed by Minority Leader Rep. O.K. Chinda, Minority Whip Rt. Hon. Ali Isa J.C., Deputy Minority Leader Rt. Hon. Aliyu Madaki, and Deputy Minority Whip Rt. Hon. George Ozodinobi, the lawmakers demanded an immediate suspension of implementation pending the conclusion of investigations.

They said Nigerians and the business community were entitled to see and verify the authentic copies of the laws they were expected to obey, warning that the controversy could not be dismissed as trivial because it involved serious allegations of unlawful alterations to the Acts passed by both chambers of the National Assembly and signed by the President.

The caucus disclosed that a member of the House had already raised the issue during plenary, leading to the inauguration of a high-powered committee to probe claims that the tax laws were fraudulently altered, gazetted, and circulated to the public.

It assured Nigerians that the House would expose the circumstances surrounding the alleged illegality and ensure that anyone found culpable was brought to book, stressing that the National Assembly remains the custodian of the authentic versions of laws passed by the legislature.

The lawmakers urged Nigerians to disregard any purported tax laws not bearing the signatures of the Clerk to the National Assembly and the President, warning that any attempt to foist fake laws on the public amounted to an attack on the independence of the legislature and Nigeria’s democracy.

Meanwhile, opposition to the tax reforms escalated further yesterday as an Abuja High Court began hearing a suit seeking to stop their implementation.

The suit, filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the African Initiative Against Abuse of Public Trust, names the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the National Assembly as defendants.

The plaintiff is asking the court to halt implementation of the new tax laws over alleged discrepancies, pending the determination of the substantive suit. Through a motion ex parte, it is seeking an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, and the National Assembly from enforcing the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service Act, and the Joint Revenue Board Act.

The court fixed Monday for ruling on the application for an interim injunction, as public opposition to the tax reforms continues to grow, with student leaders and other groups stepping up pressure on the Federal Government.

Adding to the mounting pressure, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has blamed the Federal Inland Revenue Service for what it described as widespread confusion and mistrust surrounding the new tax regime.

In a statement issued yesterday, NANS National President, Olushola Oladoja, said the association was acting to protect the interests of students and the wider Nigerian public. While acknowledging the importance of tax reforms in strengthening national revenue and economic stability, he described the current approach to implementation as “fundamentally flawed, poorly communicated, and constitutionally questionable.”

Oladoja warned that there was growing fear and suspicion nationwide that the law, if implemented without proper understanding, would further burden citizens already grappling with severe economic hardship. He called for a comprehensive nationwide public enlightenment campaign anchored on inclusive, community-based engagements, and urged the National Assembly to conclude its investigation into alleged alterations to the law and make its findings public.

“The Tax Reform Law will weaken the viability and capability of many businesses and private Nigerians to cope with the economic shocks that will accompany this policy, particularly when poor citizen education about the law affects planning and execution of financial projects in the coming year,” he said.

He accused FIRS of failing to design and execute an effective, inclusive, and nationwide sensitisation programme, criticising its reliance on social media influencers as ambassadors for the reform. According to him, the approach was elitist and exclusionary, ignoring millions of Nigerians without meaningful access to social media.

Oladoja added that the failure to engage structured grassroots organisations such as NANS, the National Youth Council of Nigeria, civil society groups, and community associations through town-hall meetings and grassroots sensitisation had significantly fuelled the backlash against the new tax laws.